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"The Greatest Nation on Earth" - En narrativanalys av konstruktionen av den amerikanska självbilden under War on Terror

Henningson, Svea LU and Agby, Alice LU (2025) STVA23 20251
Department of Political Science
Abstract
This essay investigates the construction of the American self image during “War on Terror” by analyzing three State of the Union speeches delivered in 2003, 2007 and 2013. The study intends to answer the following question: How is the American self image constructed during the War on Terror? The analysis is based on the theoretical lens of social constructivism, which emphasizes the role of institutionalised interactions in shaping socially constructed realities. A narrative analysis is employed as a method, guided by three analytical questions designed to illustrate how the national self image is constructed. The results reveal that the US depicts itself as a righteous, courageous and morally superior nation, driven by values of freedom,... (More)
This essay investigates the construction of the American self image during “War on Terror” by analyzing three State of the Union speeches delivered in 2003, 2007 and 2013. The study intends to answer the following question: How is the American self image constructed during the War on Terror? The analysis is based on the theoretical lens of social constructivism, which emphasizes the role of institutionalised interactions in shaping socially constructed realities. A narrative analysis is employed as a method, guided by three analytical questions designed to illustrate how the national self image is constructed. The results reveal that the US depicts itself as a righteous, courageous and morally superior nation, driven by values of freedom, democracy and global responsibility. Norms such as the right to self defense, global leadership and the responsibility to protect are used to justify the American agenda, however the study concludes that these norms are not static but reinterpreted and reshaped over time. Furthermore, this study argues that the American self image is constructed in opposition to an enemy characterized as evil, extreme and irrational. Through this framing a national identity is formed by a process of mirroring, in which the portrayal of the “Other” is used to define the “Self”. (Less)
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author
Henningson, Svea LU and Agby, Alice LU
supervisor
organization
course
STVA23 20251
year
type
L2 - 2nd term paper (old degree order)
subject
keywords
USA, War on Terror, självbild, socialkonstruktivism, narrativ, State of the Union, identitet
language
Swedish
id
9190568
date added to LUP
2025-08-07 17:06:07
date last changed
2025-08-07 17:06:07
@misc{9190568,
  abstract     = {{This essay investigates the construction of the American self image during “War on Terror” by analyzing three State of the Union speeches delivered in 2003, 2007 and 2013. The study intends to answer the following question: How is the American self image constructed during the War on Terror? The analysis is based on the theoretical lens of social constructivism, which emphasizes the role of institutionalised interactions in shaping socially constructed realities. A narrative analysis is employed as a method, guided by three analytical questions designed to illustrate how the national self image is constructed. The results reveal that the US depicts itself as a righteous, courageous and morally superior nation, driven by values of freedom, democracy and global responsibility. Norms such as the right to self defense, global leadership and the responsibility to protect are used to justify the American agenda, however the study concludes that these norms are not static but reinterpreted and reshaped over time. Furthermore, this study argues that the American self image is constructed in opposition to an enemy characterized as evil, extreme and irrational. Through this framing a national identity is formed by a process of mirroring, in which the portrayal of the “Other” is used to define the “Self”.}},
  author       = {{Henningson, Svea and Agby, Alice}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{"The Greatest Nation on Earth" - En narrativanalys av konstruktionen av den amerikanska självbilden under War on Terror}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}